Standard Chartered Marathon- Hong Kong

Last October 2011, I registered for my 2nd International Marathon. The Standard Chartered Marathon in Hong Kong. From the moment I registered for the race I knew it was going to be a tough one! The runners will be running on the 4th longest bridge in the world known as the Stonecutters bridge.

Stonecutters bridge

 By November 2011, I decided to take my training seriously and hired a coach. Coach Philip. When he evaluated me, I didn't realize there were so many weak points I needed to change in my running style. I trained 2-3x a week since then and ran my peak run by joining CCM Full marathon. I felt a little confident since my time improved.

We left Cebu for HK Feb 2 (10pm). Andrea and I picked up our race packs at Victoria Peak at Causeway bay wherein we will finish the race. Hong Kong weather was very cold 13-16 degrees.

A1021

We woke up 5:45am on race day since I needed to drop off my race bag at the baggage area a few meters from the starting line at Mira Hotel at Nathan Road on Tsim Tsa Tsui. When we walked going to the starting line we saw a lot of runners! Some familiar faces from Cebu like Team Boyek, John Ong Corrine Nillas, Coach Banzon, Gianluca, Jung,  Sheila Colmenares and Arlene Yu. Andrea joined the Half Marathon Category.

Fifteen minutes before gun start I saw actor Edison Chen from China. He also joined the race. He's so handsome! I, proceeded to the walk towards the starting line because I want to be near the front. The Emcee started to countdown and all the runners started to cheer.

The weather was a mixture of cold and hot so I kept on rolling up my sleeves and taking off my gloves from time to time. We ran through the first bridge "Stonecutters Bridge" which felt like forever especially the uphill part. Afterwards 2 more bridges Tsing Ma and Tsing Yi bridge. We also passed by 3 tunnels. One of which was quite long that it felt like forever running inside. But fun at the same time since some runners were cheering. We also passed by flyovers. The race overall was very well organized. Enough hydration and food. So many volunteers cheering for you and giving you support! 

HK Finisher Medal

When I crossed the 4 hr mark I knew it was a surefire new PR because there was only 5kms left to the finish line so I took it easy by walking 1 min every 1km left.  I cross the finish line at 4 hrs 44 mins and 18 secs! After crossing the finish line, I received my finisher medal. 

Results

1232 out of 4501 runners (Full Marathon 1 category)

111th runner out of 510 female runners under my category

2nd filipina to cross the finish line! :)